2003 News Story09/02/2003Crown Prince Abdullah arrives in Moscow on state visit to Russia

Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, traveling from Morocco, arrived today in Moscow at the start of a four-day official visit to the Russian Federation. The Crown Prince is accompanied by an official delegation that includes the Chief of General Intelligence Prince Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal, and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi.

Ambassador to Russia Muhammad Hassan Abdul-Wali commented today that this is the first summit meeting between Saudi Arabia and Russia, and that a number of agreements will be signed, reflecting the joint interests of the two countries in areas such as oil and commerce; and confirmed that international events such as developments in Palestine and in Iraq will be on the agenda of the talks between the Crown Prince and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a newspaper interview on Saturday, he pointed out that Russia was one of the sponsors of the Madrid Conference, and plays a significant role in the Middle East peace process.

Meanwhile, the King Abdulaziz Public Library will hold tomorrow a Saudi-Russian Cultural Forum simultaneously in the two cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The Forum focuses on the efforts of Russian Arabists as well as enlightening the Russian people on Saudi culture and civilization.